Many different users may have different preferences for receiving receipts. For example, one person may be interested in receiving a receipt after a purchase transaction is conducted, and another may not be interested in receiving a receipt after a purchase transaction is conducted. Yet another person may be interested in receiving a particular type of receipt. For example, one person may want to receive receipts in color, whereas another person may not care if his receipts are in color.
One solution to the problem of satisfying the receipt preferences of consumers is to use electronic receipts. With electronic receipts, it is possible to do sorting, customization, etc. While electronic receipts are used in e-commerce transactions, they are not widely used in transactions conducted at brick and mortar stores.
Some stores could provide electronic receipts, however, there a number of problems with this. For example, it is costly and burdensome to have a consumer independently enroll in an electronic receipt program for each merchant patronized by the consumer. Further, even if a merchant could provide an electronic receipt, there may be some doubt in the cardholder's mind as to whether or not the receipt that is received from the merchant is accurate, especially if the merchant is not a well known and trusted merchant.
Embodiments of the invention address these and other problems individually and collectively.